"Are you sure I don't have to wear this?" said Ms. Gini, on the occasion of a banquet, ......" Tails asked Putira, frowning in the room, holding up a small trimmed waistcoat. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

And these are also the luggage that the mission is desperately working to carry along with the flag, isn't it?

"This is in Exeter, in the Northlands," the well-dressed Putile looked at him with disdain, "even at the banquet, they hate little white faces and sissies the most...... If you ever put that thing on - I think you'll be the best contender for the banquet clown. ”

Tails stuck out his tongue and threw off his vest.

"Ah, you know," said Ada, who was sitting by the window, came back to her senses and sighed with a sad expression, "a banquet without clowns is boring. ”

Nearly a month of nervous tension left Tails with no time to take care of anything else. From the abandoned house to Hongfang Street, from the Min Disi Hall to the Fuxing Palace, and then from the Broken Dragon Fortress to Longxiao City, the new second prince was hurried into the nobleman's carriage and put on the prince's shackles to face a different challenge he had never seen before.

So it wasn't until the servant and Mielke came to remind them that Tails suddenly realized that he didn't have any experience and insight in attending aristocratic banquets at all.

Facing the sword soldiers, facing the blood clan, and facing the magician, he was not too out of shape, and suddenly became a little nervous.

"Don't worry," Putirai nodded disapprups, nodding the Northland tobacco he had received from the servant, "compared to the standards of the stars and the Duchy of Anrenzo, Exeter's banquet is nothing short of a barracks picnic for the big-headed soldiers—if you've ever experienced the style of the Humble and Night, God, their banquet etiquette is nothing short of sinful." ”

"Etiquette, décor, fashion, style, these efforts to distinguish status, to separate status and class, to classify people never cease," Tails struggled to calm his apprehension with small talk, crouching down, adjusting his shoes in front of a rudimentary dressing mirror, sighing, "I must take a shower after tonight......

"Let's think about tonight," Putile, who seemed unaccustomed to the choking tobacco of the Northlands, coughed and struggled, "Ahem, damn it, they're sending shoddy goods—"

Putile's words seemed to have a magical power, causing Tails to forget about the cramped banquet and seriously think about the situation in front of him.

There was a knock on the door.

Rolf stepped on his increasingly skilled metal prosthetic leg and walked in, and it seemed to be the first time he had encountered such an occasion, and his face was a little pale beyond the silver mask.

Waiya, who followed, was calmer, as if he had seen such a scene before.

"Your Highness," the attendant of Tails nodded solemnly, "everything is ready. ”

Rolf, next to him, gestured:

[Here they are. 】

Tails nodded.

The second prince took a deep breath, and in the midst of Putilai's confused expression, Huaiya and frowning brows, gestured back:

[Let's go.] 】

————

Before the sun had completely set, Exeter's welcome party had already begun.

Led by the king's servant Mielke and his servants, Tails walked beside Putile, followed by Rolf and Wya...... As for Edda, it was unanimously agreed that she was unfit to participate in such an operation.

"I don't know what your understanding of the banquet in the Northlands, Your Highness, but I must remind you that the distinguished guests of the stars may not be accustomed to our banquets," Lord Michaelke said with a blank face, "and tonight is a special ......"

Tails smiled with a friendly and understanding smile.

The group stepped on the rough floor tiles of Valhalla and stepped on the stone steps.

"The banquet hall is the place where the King of Necajou feasted the Nine Knights, and it is said that the banquet of the heroes of the Northland lasted for three days and three nights, and ate up almost all the capture they had during their conquest," Mielke said respectfully, introducing them to the place they were about to go: "It was also in this place, in the cheers of the castle and beyond, that Necaju Aix was elected king. ”

Tails ascended the last stone staircase to the sixth hallway of Valhalla.

Lively and noisy voices were heard.

The floor of this floor is almost seven or eight meters high from the ceiling, and there are a large number of braziers, one by one, supported on shelves, evenly arranged throughout the corridor, blazing, illuminating Valhalla as bright as day after the sun goes down.

Unlike the other floors of corridors, which were filled with rooms, this level had only a thick wooden double door in the center, and servants came and went with happy faces, either carrying plates or holding wine barrels, in and out.

Tails took a deep breath, exchanged glances with his subordinates, and stepped into the banquet hall of Valhalla under the leadership of Michael.

The noisy chatter, the clashing of wine glasses, the tearing of knives, and even the sound of a fight, from small to large, began to invade and torture his ears.

Tails looked up and saw the hall clearly.

It's a circular hall with pennants with dragon lances in the clouds on the walls, blazing braziers lit around the corners, several bright ceiling lights hanging from the ceiling (thankfully, Tails thought Valhalla's lighting was only braziers), and servants appearing at the side doors and barbecue grills from time to time to deliver waves of food and drink.

The banquet hall was large enough to hold several hundred—and it is now—at least one or two hundred sat around a dozen rectangular tables arranged in parallel directions, which were perpendicular to the direction of the door, leaving a passage in the middle of the hall large enough to accommodate servants and guests.

Tails frowned and looked around, far away in the hall, he couldn't see at all due to his height, and it was Putilai who whispered in his ear.

But the atmosphere in the stadium was very lively.

The servants who came and went with their plates, the rude nobles who argued loudly at the table, the guests who had been drunk since some time, and the lustful nobles, who laughed from time to time and touched the buttocks of the maids who passed by, provoked a loud shout.

The five Grand Dukes sat on the thrones of the five long tables with different faces: the bearded Grand Duke Aulesio, whose face was unswerving, turned the wine glass in his hand absentmindedly, and beside him were almost all family knights or subordinate lords with triangular round coats of arms; Grand Duke Trudida with his shaved head smiling and his subordinates around him, as if they were in water in communication; Bald Grand Duke Leco and Marquis Slys of the Commas Alliance sat together, listening carefully to the latter's slow speech; the long-haired Grand Duke Ronnie still had a serious face, as if he had a cold aura, and the long table he was at was the most deserted, and no one dared to come forward to talkOnly the servants and subordinates behind him occasionally added food or wine to him, and the young Grand Duke of Piffet raised his glass with a smile on his face, and said something to the various nobles sitting around him, who did not know whether it was their princes or their retinue, who nodded frequently, and then drank the wine from the glass together.

It's a mix of factions - it's a replica of the villagers of the Northland and the soldiers drinking back and forth when they were in the village of Pass.

If it weren't for the sight of Nunn VII, surrounded by the White-Bladed Guards, sitting silently drinking among his close ministers at the table at the end of the hall when Tails looked up, he would have almost forgotten the swords and swords that lurked in the conspiracy tonight.

It is almost forgotten that it is these five kilometers that have a conspirator who is so bold as to murder the princes of the two countries.

"I didn't know, it turned out that the banquet had already begun. Tails turned his head and said helplessly.

"Most of the nobles are already seated," Mielke said calmly, "Your Majesty Nunn is waiting for your arrival." ”

Tails narrowed his eyes, finally glancing at Nunn VII in the distance, noticing that he still had a cold look on his face.

The king seemed to notice his gaze, and his old but piercing eyes swept towards him.

"That's where we go. Putile, who was behind him, muttered intentionally or unintentionally.

Tails sighed slightly in his heart.

A few seconds later, the waiter on the side, at Michael's motion, announced his identity in a loud voice:

"Distinguished guest from the Kingdom of Stars, His Royal Highness Prince Tails Bright Star!"

Voices can be heard in every corner of the hall, and there are even echoes.

The noisy banquet suddenly fell silent.

At a dozen long tables, almost everyone stopped what they were doing—whether it was drinking, cutting meat, chatting, fighting, or even molesting the maid, countless eyes were cast in unison.

Even many of the servants and guards standing guard, and even the white-knuckled guards looked in this direction.

Tails recognized the feeling—the last time it was in Eternal Star City, at the National Council meeting in the Hall of Stars.

"Should I laugh at this time?" Feeling the various eyes ranging from malicious and murderous to curious and friendly, Tails' expression remained unchanged, and his lips moved slightly: "Or put on a dead face, which is more in line with my identity as the prince of the enemy?"

"Relax, relax, they started early, and they didn't even arrange the seating order...... You don't have to make a fuss. Putile looked at the apprehensive prince and sighed, "It doesn't matter what the expression is, you are just a banner called 'Star' now." ”

A blank Mielke nodded at Tails and politely held out his right hand to signal him to move forward.

"Shall I just walk forward, or will I stay behind and wait for someone to say hello?" Tails ignored Mielke, frowning under the pressure of the audience's gaze, and asked Putile behind him in a low voice.

"If it's in the stars, of course, you'll have to wait for the host to send someone to take you into your seat, but this is Exeter," Putile frowned and glanced at the messy hall, many of the guests seemed to have given up the temptation of curiosity, and had even begun to bite at the food that was served: "Don't expect so much etiquette—walk to your seat without squinting, I guess it's the one next to King Nunn." ”

Tails walked forward with an amiable smile that he imagined a "prince" to have.

Unlike Xingchen, who pays attention to rules and etiquette in everything, there is not even a carpet in the banquet hall, and he feels like he has returned to an abandoned house when he steps on the uneven floor tiles.

As he walked past the long table, a whisper came from his ear, and his good hearing showed its effect at this time:

"Is that the stinking prince?"

"I heard that I have been lost for many years......"

"Seven?

"The people of the stars have spread him like a god, you know, genius...... Hmph!"

"So, our army can't move because of this kid?"

"The Black Sand Collar has made a fuss at the border...... Kingdom Wrath ......"

"Rumba sent an army to send him over......"

"If this battle is still to be fought, it must wait until the beginning of spring......

Tails walked straight ahead without squinting, towards Nunn VII, who was also staring at him with an unclear gaze.

Eventually, more and more nobles ran out of curiosity, gave up the idea of seeing the prince's face, and returned to the rhythm of the banquet.

The nobles of the Northlands are very different from their peers in the Hall of the Stars, who always behave elegantly in the Hall of the Stars, and even the rural nobles who sit on the outermost part of the country must try their best to be civilized, both in their manners and in their clothing, which also makes the three northern families and their subordinate nobles led by Aarend, Forrest, and Zemutto stand out among the princes of the stars.

But the group of Northland nobles in front of them, perhaps different in status and personality, but without exception behaved like rough men: from sitting posture to eating, from appearance to clothing, even when drinking, they had to deliberately make a grunt, and then shed a few drops from the edge of their beards, and then slammed the bottom of the cup on the table, loudly counting the opponents, or being counted by the opponents.

Tails silently observed the behavior of the group of nobles as he moved between the long tables on either side, and he couldn't help but notice that there were almost no ladies at the banquet except for the maids.

"There will be some low-ranking nobles here, the lord's close ministers, meritorious knights, specially invited bureaucrats, etc., at the back of the banquet hall," Putile reminded faintly behind him: "The one in front of you on the left who is dressed well is only the servant who delivers the meal, and the one in the corner of the right back who is roasting meat on the stove seems to be a servant, but in fact he is the chief goose officer in charge of meat cooking, which is generally served by the lord's more trusted ministers." ”

"Why?" Tails didn't look back, he wondered, "Shouldn't it be something the kitchen does, or maybe it's an honor?"

"Hmph, my prince," Putirai said quietly and lightly, "Do you know how many assassination and poisoning intentions in the history of the empire originated in that corner of silent barbecue?"

Tails shut his mouth and stopped talking.

They walked past the middle of the long table, and sure enough, from here, the "quality" of the nobles of the Northland seemed to rise with the rise of status, and the fingers in the banquet crowd were much less, and the exchange of glances in silence and the whispers of unknown meaning skyrocketed.

"The open space in the center of the hall...... If it were placed in the stars or in the Anrenzo, it would be a dance floor and a performance venue, but in the Northlands," Putile walked past a few unpleasant-looking guests, ignoring the whispered curses of a rude nobleman beside him, pointed to a circular clearing in the center of the hall, and twitched his cheek: "In my experience, when the wine is full, don't be surprised to see two rough men fighting each other desperately on it. ”

Tails, who had heard Putilai speak foul language for the first time, frowned: "Is it really good to use this language to the prince?"

"I saw a noble princess of Exter standing on the street and scolding with words like '***,' Putile shook his head, "Besides, I think you're quite used to these terms even as a prince." ”

"Ah, as your Royal Highness, I am like the noble prince of many poems and legends," Tails looked at the several Grand Dukes who were already at the table in the distance, and quietly covered up the past: "I have experienced the sufferings of the people, and I am both virtuous and good. ”

Putile snorted noncommittally.

They finally made it to the end of the long table.

The highest rank among the closest to them was the Grand Duke of Auretheus.

"There was no music and no bards, no clowns and burlesques, no pretty ladies, no big-breasted maids, no roasting pigs, no jousting men, no rejoicing with the people in the tents that spread throughout the city and beyond," Tails heard Archduke Auretheus grumble unhappily to the lords around him, and then turned and said in a disgruntled voice in the direction of King Nunn:

"What the is this banquet?"

To Tails' surprise, many Northland nobles echoed in unison, protesting in the direction of King Nunn.

It's like a wet market...... Tails sighed, and suddenly remembered that he had given the same evaluation to the national conference before, and couldn't help but be stunned.

But King Nunn just stared coldly at the chaotic nobles in the audience, and did not react.

A loud but yin and yang voice rang out from the long table on the other side, echoing Aletheus:

"First of all, this is on the eve of the bitter cold, except for a madman like Rumba, the whole of the Northland is cutting down on food and clothing, stockpiling grain for the winter, and secondly," the Archduke Trudida with the head of the pot squinted his eyes and stood up, looking at Prince Tails, who was restless in the room, from a distance:

"This dinner is for the unwelcome Prince of the Stars!"

The nobles around him stood up and cheered at each other.

Tails and the crowd of the stars furrowed their brows almost at the same time.

"Finally, Rebien Auretheus, when you live in someone else's castle and palace, eat him and drink his ...... Hey, maybe fuck him," Grand Duke Trudida glanced at a big-ass maid and smiled funny: "Then it's better not to dictate to the master's arrangement." ”

Some of the Northland nobles let out incomprehensible laughter.

Auretheus shook his head disdainfully and sat back in his chair.

Tails finally came to King Nunn and bowed slightly to him.

King Nunn stared at him, his turquoise eyes filled with mixed emotions.

This made Tails extremely uneasy.

From the moment he stepped into Exeter, the Grand Duke of Rumba, the Viscount of Cambida, and even the five Grand Dukes present, every lord he met was not a simple thing, but Tails, who had experienced many ups and downs, was able to calmly face their hostility, coercion, oppression, and even murder.

Because Tails knew exactly what they wanted.

Only the old king in front of him, the king who had stood at the pinnacle of Exeter's power, made him unable to figure it out.

The strange emotions hidden in the eyes of the other party, the act of forcing him to cooperate with revenge, and the words and actions in the council chamber all made Tails feel a chill in his heart, even though the conversation between them was only a few words.

Unpredictable people are always scary.

King Nunn slowly stood up and raised his hand to the leader of the White Blade Guard, Nicolai, behind him.

Nicolas nodded, and he walked over to Tails, "Please take a seat, your seat is at the end of His Majesty's left hand." ”

Tails turned his head to look at the unattended seat at the end of the row of horizontal tables.

Although he is in the same row as the king, he ...... It's so far from King Nunn.

It's almost a corner.

Behind him, Putile sighed.

Tails shrugged and walked to his seat indifferently.

Rolf and Wyaa followed closely.

But before he could sit his ass hot, a familiar and unfamiliar old voice sounded in the hall:

"Everyone, raise your glass!"

Tails turned his head in a daze, and Putile, beside him, remained unchanged, and handed him a glass of rye wine in an iron wine glass.

"Toast. The thin deputy envoy said lightly.

Tails turned his head and watched King Nunn, who had just lost his son, leave his seat, raise his glass, and say in a loud voice to the audience:

"Welcome to our guests...... The second prince from the Kingdom of Stars - Tails Bright Star!"

The renewed noise in the hall was once again silent.

I saw the old king slowly step out of his seat and walk to the front of the hall.

Like an old lion with dangerous steps, he stepped out of his territory and into the territory of other lions.

The five Grand Dukes stared at him intently, raising their glasses from afar, with different expressions.

"May the north wind measure his courage, and the ice and snow wash away his fortitude!"

"For reasons you all know, I cannot welcome him with joy in my heart," King Nunn looked around, his expression resolute and his words cold, "but he is already here!"

All the nobles present listened quietly to their king's speech.

There were quite a few eyes cast around Tails' corner.

"Then don't let anyone doubt the warmth of the Northlanders and the tenacity of the Exeters—even if they are enemies of life and death!" King Nunn tapped his glass, and a majesty appeared on his wrinkled face, and the boldness of his youth was faintly visible in his tone:

"Even if we have to fight to the death tomorrow, we have to make the tradition enough!"

Under the watchful eye, King Nunn shook his glass and roared, "For Exeter!"

At that moment, everyone in the hall raised their glasses and roared:

"For Exeter!"

King Nunn's eyes were sharp, and he spoke again, and drank a second time: "For the Northland!"

The roar of the guests responded to him with a solemn voice: "For the Northland!"

A roar filled the hall like thunder, deafening.

The next moment, King Nunn moved neatly and drank the wine from the glass.

With his movements, the nobles in the hall all turned grim and opened their mouths to drink, and for a while, only countless throat gurgles were heard in the banquet hall.

Tails frowned, his heavy iron glass in his hands, and reluctantly gulped as many eyes behind him watched.

When King Nunn had finished drinking, he turned around with an angry face and slammed the bottom of his glass on the long table!

"Boom!"

The aristocrats in the hall also agreed, and they all slammed their wine glasses on the table in front of them.

"Knock!", "Knock!", "Knock!", ......

King Nunn raised his head again, and under the eyes of the full hall, he opened his mouth and shouted:

"Come on!"

"Eat, drink, fight,, do whatever you want!"

For a second, Tails was truly stunned.

What's so ...... What is a toast?

Nunn VII's face was frenzied, and in a deep, old voice, he shouted to the audience, in his lingua franca full of Northland accents, "Until you lie down, roll, limp, crawl, and are carried out of my palace!"

"Bastards!"

After a second, the guests in the hall erupted in the same frenzied response, echoing throughout the banquet hall like a tidal wave!

Many Northlanders waved their fists and howled like wild beasts in support of the king's banquet.

The guests resumed the banquet with mixed plans and hot drinks.

The whole hall instantly returned to chaos, noise and liveliness, and the people were buzzing with people, even more than before!

"A distinctive toast," Putile whispered in Tails' ear, "Northland." ”

"I don't need you to remind you of this," Tails rolled his eyes, revealing a look of helplessness, "I can see that." ”

At this moment, King Nunn, who had returned to his seat, suddenly turned his head and gave Tails a meaningful look.

Tails' heart sank.

He read the message from the king's gaze.

He also knew that the other party did not want him to enjoy the banquet.

But before he could turn his head and discuss with several of his subordinates, an unexpected guest was the first to come to his seat and visit the second prince of the stars.

Tails froze.

Standing in front of him was a ...... in a red robe Kind old woman.

"Good night, Your Highness Esteemed Tails," the other squinted, his voice was gentle, and his smile was full of reassuring warmth: "My name is Kasan." ”

Tails gave a friendly smile for some reason.

But before he could answer, Putile, who was beside him, was the first to speak: "Is there anything special about you?"

At that moment, Tails noticed that Putira's face on his side was extremely bad, and he had even stiffened his body, staring at the old woman in front of him.

Huaiya, the attendant officer behind him, also breathed sluggishly.

Tails wondered: they seemed to know the ...... An old woman named Kassan?

Before Putile finished speaking, his face was pale, and he seemed to have some difficulty even breathing, and opened his mouth to say, "Respected ......"

"The Scarlet Witch?"

The Red Witch?

Tails looked at the kind old woman in front of him suspiciously.

Witch?

What the heck?

"Oh, it's just some longing for my family, I especially want to ask Your Highness," the kind Kashan squinted and shook her head slightly, as if she was a little embarrassed: "How is my son doing in the stars?"

Son?

Tails froze again.

"Uh," replied the second prince faintly, with the perfect smile he had learned from a young duke, "may I ask who your son is?"

Kassan, known as the Scarlet Witch, smiled softly:

"Ahh ”

"My son, his star name is ......"

In the next second, under Tails's unclear gaze, the amiable Granny Kasan, as if she was afraid of the cold, kept rubbing her hands......

Spit out a name that made him instantly discolored:

"Yodel Cato. (To be continued.) )